A district court today dismissed the petition filed by Ravanan, a close relative of Sasikala, the estranged aide of AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa, seeking bail in a case of alleged cheating of a contractor to the tune of Rs 10 lakh.

When the petition came up for hearing, the Principal District Judge, Adinathan dismissed it as the prosecution argued that if released on bail the accused would tamper with evidence, since two more persons have to be taken into custody for investigation.

Ravanan was arrested on Jan 27 on charges of abduction for ransom, extortion and criminal conspiracy.

The arrest followed a complaint by one Ravikumar, a contractor at Sirumugai in the district, that he was abducted by him on Oct nine last and Rs 10 lakh was sought as ransom for his release and to continue his business, police said.

As he was kept in captivity in a oil godown, his friend delivered the money, Ravikumar said in his complaint.

Chennai police, with whom one Krishnamurthy had filed a case of cheating against Ravanan, took him to Chennai for investigation last week.

Tags: bail plea, coimbatore, ravanan, rejected, relative, sasikala, tamil nadu